The iconic ABC sitcom Laverne & Shirley debuted nearly a half-century ago on January 27, 1976
and aired for eight seasons before ending it's run on May 10, 1983.
At that time, audiences fell in love with the show's lead stars, Penny Marshall and
Cindy Williams.
Laverne & Shirley was actually a spin-off of Happy Days, but in a lot of ways, the series
cut it's own path and didn't come across as too derivative.
With Marshall as Laverne DeFazio and Williams as Shirley Feeney, viewers got a peak into
the lives of two friends and roommates who worked at the fictitious Shotz Brewery in
late-50s Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Sadly, we’ve just learned that Cindy Williams has passed away, and since Penny Marshall
died in 2018, that means that both of the show’s stars are no longer with us.
Stay tuned to find out how Williams died and how the entertainment world has reacted to
her death.
We'll also take a few moments to reflect on her life and career while doing the same for
her former co-star Penny Williams.
Facts Verse Presents: Cindy Williams’ Cause of Death Is Utterly Tragic
Williams’ Rise To Fame
Cynthia Jane Williams was born on August 22, 1947, in the Van Nuys district of Los Angeles,
California.
When she was just a year old, her family moved to Dallas, Texas, but they returned to LA
when she was ten.
As a child, Williams wrote a lot, and she got her first taste of acting at a local church.
She later appeared in student-led productions at Birmingham High School, where she graduated
in 1965.
After earning her high school diploma, Williams attended Los Angeles City College, where she
studied drama and theater.
After finishing up college, she began her professional career modeling and acting in
national commercials promoting brands like Foster Grant sunglasses and Trans World Airlines.
After adopting the stage name Cindy, Williams made her television debut, first appearing
in shows like Love American Style, Nanny and the Professor, and Room 222.
Around this time, she accompanied one of her fellow-actor friends from Los Angeles City
College who needed a screen partner to an audition.
This led to her being accepted at The Actors Studio West, but she hardly ever attended
to scheduling conflicts with her acting commitments.
In 1972, Williams landed a role in George Cukor's Travel With My Aun playing the character
Laura Henderson.
The following year she played Ron Howard's high school sweetheart in George Lucas's film
American Graffiti.
That role ended up earning her a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
After that, Williams enjoyed yet another film role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 film The
Conversation.
After developing a working relationship with George Lucas while appearing in American Graffiti,
Williams decided to take a stab at auditioning for the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars,
but thousands of others showed up to audition for the now-iconic part as well, and ultimately,
as we all know, the role ended up going to Carrie Fisher.
Williams And Penny’s Collaboration
Williams and Penny Marshall met on a double date.
The two later reconnected at Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope company.
Both rising stars were hired as comedy writers because the studio really wanted to add a
couple of women to the crew of a prospective TV parody for the Bicentennial.
While they were working as writers for Zoetrope, Marshall’s brother, Garry, called and asked
if they had any desire to appear on an episode of Happy Days, the TV series he was producing.
In 1975 Williams was cast as a bubbly brewery bottle capper named Shirley Feeney.
Penny Marshall was likewise cast as her best friend and roommate Laverne De Fazio.
Initially, the girls were cast to be 'sure-thing' love interests of Richie and Fonzie.
Their addition to the cast proved to be so popular that Garry Marshall ended up commissioning
a spin-off series specifically revolved around their characters.
Laverne & Shirley premiered in 1976 and was met with rave reviews.
The series proved to be just as popular as it’s source material and ran for eight seasons
before coming to an end in 1982.
Williams received a ton of praise for her portrayal of Shirley.
She ended up leaving the show after the second episode of what would become the series’
eighth and final season after becoming pregnant with her first child.
The show’s producers were less than enthusiastic about her getting pregnant as up until that
point, the show was still doing quite well in the ratings.
They knew that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for her to continue in her role
as her character Shirley wasn’t pregnant.
After working side by side for so long, Williams and Marshall's working relationship had also
begun to deteriorate.
It's reported that during the final days of the series' both stars were feuding.
Needless to say, the writing appeared to be on the wall.
Although the network and the show's producers would have liked to see the series continue
on for a few more seasons, it became apparent that it was time to pull the plug.
Williams and Marshall, fortunately, would eventually reconcile, albeit many years later.
The success of Laverne & Shirley led to a short-lived Saturday Morning cartoon series
called Laverne & Shirley in the Army which was created by Hanna-Barbera and aired from
1981 to 1982.
Both Marshall and Williams would reprise their respective roles for this offering.
Post Laverne & Shirley
In 1985, Williams starred in the science fiction comedy UFOria, sharing the screen with Harry
Dean Stanton and Fred Ward.
The movie’s production had actually been completed in 1981 but it didn’t get released
until four years later.
In 1990, Williams made her return to television appearing in the short-lived sitcom Normal
Life.
Three years later she reunited with her former Laverne & Shirley producers Robert L Boyett
and Thomas L. Miller to star in their sitcom Getting By.
That series aired on ABC from March 1993 to May 1993.
It then got shipped over NBC where it continued to air until June 1994.
While she wouldn't star in any more sitcoms going forward, Williams would occasionally
make guest appearances in TV shows like 8 Simple Rules.
As a lifelong love of theater, Williams performed onstage on several occasions.
She did national tours with productions such as Moon Over Buffalo, Deathtrap, and Grease,
and appeared in a regional production of Nunsense.
In November 2008, she reunited with one of her Laverne & Shirley co-stars Eddie Mekka
for a regional production of the comedy play It Had To Be You.
In December 2007, Williams made her Broadway debut playing Mrs. Tottenddale in The Drowsy
Chaperone at the Marquis Theatre.
Then in 2013, she reunited with Penny Marshall on the TV series Sam & Cat, appearing in the
episode #SalmonCat.
She went on release her memoir, Shirley, I Jest!
In 2015.
That same year she began working as a celebrity brand ambassador for the senior citizen service
Visiting Angels.
She Was Married Once
As far as her personal life went, Williams was only married once.
She and musician and actor Bill Hudson of the musical trio Hudson Brothers got married
in 1982.
The couple went on to have two children.
A daughter whom they named Emily was born in 1982, and then their second child, a son
named Zachary, was born in 1986.
After 18 years of marriage, Williams and Hudson got divorced in 2000.
She remained single for the remainder of her life.
While we don’t know yet exactly what she died of, it’s been reported that Williams
battled a brief illness before passing away in Los Angeles on the 25th of January, 2023,
at the age of 75.
The Hollywood Community Response To Williams’ Death
Ron Howard paid tribute to Williams following her death by posting a heartfelt message on
Twitter.
He described Williams in glowing terms relating how she impacted every character she created
and everyone she worked alongside with her 'unpretentious intelligence, talent, wit,
and humanity".
Howard went on to note how he and Williams were paired as actors on six different projects
including American Graffiti, Happy Days, and Laverne & Shirley.
Comedian Dante likewise posted a video tribute to Williams that featured many of her most
iconic moments from Laverne & Shirley.
In an accompanying message, Dante stated how heartbroken he was to learn of her passing.
He went on to express how lucky he was to have had the opportunity to appear in a movie
with her and recounted the time that she had signed his diary on an airplane while also
writing a humorous story in it.
Cindy’s two children also issued a joint statement on their mother’s passing, saying
that it was a joy and privelege to have known her.
They further referred to her as a ‘one of a kind, beautiful, and generous person’
who ‘possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved’.
Penny Marshall Died in 2018
In 2010, it was first reported that Marshall had been diagnosed with lung cancer and that
it had metastasized to her brain.
Two years later, however, she claimed that she was “fine now”.
Following her recovery from cancer, she published a candid memoir entitled My Mother Was Nuts.
While she had beaten cancer, it would only be a few more years before she passed away.
Marshall died in LA on December 17, 2018, at the age of 75.
The causes of her death according to her death certificate were cardiopulmonary failure,
diabetes mellitus type 1, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
It truly is heartbreaking to know that both of the actresses who made Laverne & Shirley
the hit was are no longer with us.
Still, both Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall’s legacies will continue to live on for many
years to come as audiences continue to appreciate the series that they shined in.
Did you know that Penny Marshall died in 2018 and that Cindy Williams at one point was in
the running to play Princess Leia in Star Wars?
Share your thoughts on these two legendary stars in the comments section down below,
and as always, thanks for watching!